I know a lot of you are so pressed for time to ride, and juggling family life makes your time on the bike even more important that you want to see results in your fitness. But for those of us who have more riding and training time available, I want to recommend LSD (Long Slow Distance) riding from time to time.

The easy way of making sure your new cleats match up with the position of your old ones, and this is very important, is to use masking tape on the outside edge of the cleat in different places, or better yet scribe with an awl, or pen around the whole outside edge. I use both tape and an awl. But before your loosen things up, get on your bike and clip in both shoes while leaning up against something.

This article has all cyclists and hikers concerned. The U.S. government is expected to release a report on the safety of certain plastic water bottles containing the chemical compound bisphenol-A or BPA, which some scientists consider a health concern. Recent lab tests indicate that exposure to BPA may raise the risk of certain cancers, effect both male and female fertility and possibly enhance the risk of developing Type II diabetes at certain exposure levels. Look for a small triangle on the bottom of your bottles. The number inside the triangle indicates the category of plastic that is used to manufacture the bottle. Bottles that contain the number 3, 6, or 7 have either BPA or other chemicals that should be avoided. Most cycling bottles are made with No. 4 plastic.

While riding in a group, especially at a fast speed, keep your head up and look beyond that rider in front of you. Remember drivers ed, and how they taught you to scan ahead and get the whole picture? The same holds true with us, in that looking ahead to see what's going on 4-5 riders ahead will give you more reaction time in case there is a crash. It will also be helpful in telling you when the speed will increase, or decrease, or if there is something in the road that doesn't get pointed out for some reason.

About 65% of your body weight is over the rear wheel. So if you encounter a rough set of railroad tracks, or even a pothole, getting off the saddle and leaning forward will transfer your weight more evenly between the front and the back wheel can prevent these.

I learned this from Scott Flanders many yrs. ago, and for those of you who know him, know that he is meticulous about his race bike being race ready at all times. At both the front and rear derailleurs there are points where, if you work the shift lever can see where a part will move against another part that won't. That is the pivot point, and it makes sense to give that point just 1 drop of light weight lubricant once in a while. The rear derailleur has 4 points, and the front also 4 points. I use the smallest plastic bottle of Triflow I can find. I inserted one of those spray tubes into the top, that way I can see that I'm using just a drop. Then wipe off the any excess.

If you like to ride with your hands on the "tops", meaning the top of the bars alot, always make sure at least one thumb is wrapped under the bar. That way if you happen to hit a hole or deep crack unexpectedly, and it will happen if you ride alot, your hands won't slide off the bars which would more than likely cause you to crash, and possibly others.

This is the most over looked areas on our bikes, and a lot of the times it shows on a lot of our rides involving flat tires. As far as I'm concerned, you get what you pay for when buying them. I ride Continental Grand Prix 4000. Last year, I managed to put 2,300 miles on a rear tire, before changing it out. These have a Kevlar protection that seems to help prevent glass and other objects you might run over. Their price has gone up a little from last year, and now sell for about 55 bucks. There are also other brands on the market, and all the top of the line tires are in the 45-55 dollar range.

I gave some information on this last year, and thought it needed mentioning again. I've had a bike stand for a very long time now, and before that I relied on leaning my machine against an outside wall, or even tipping it upside down on the grass to do periodical maintenance. If this sounds familiar to some of you and I know it does, it's time to "pony up" and buy a stand.

After Jerry's record of three flats in one ride two weeks ago I came up with this tip. Glueless patches are very convenient, but they have a higher failure rate when used with the high pressures of 100-120 psi. So if you have some of these glueless patches save them for your off road machine!

This tip of the week is a simple one that is a must. When entering an intersection where you do not have to stop, make sure you make "eye to eye" contact with that car or truck, and don't take for granted that they see you. You can also look at their front tire to see if it is moving. People out here in Dakota County are used to looking for something bigger than you and your bike. If in doubt, cover your brake levers.

After a wet ride, do you happen to notice that whenever you apply the brakes you hear a sort of grinding sound coming from the brake pads? That's because your rear and front wheels pick up a lot of fine grit, and when you brake it gets embedded in the brake pads and leads to rim wear. So to protect those expensive rims here's some simple maintenance. As soon as you can, remove the wheels and take a piece of sandpaper in the 120-180 grit range and sand the face of the pads that make contact with the rim. Just a few passes will remove this grit and give you a lot longer wheel life.

This is the time of the year in which we have to think about another safety factor, the sun. We have all experienced driving in our own cars, driving along and then turning to go east in the morning, our turning to go west at night. You can't flip that sun visor down quick enough, right?? This can be a dangerous thing especially if you are riding into that bright light on a road with no our very little shoulder. I personally have witnessed this twice since riding with a group. Luckely no one was seriously hurt. So take in consideration that the driver of any kind of vehicle can be blinded by the sun and not be able to see you.

Out here in Dakota County, we don't have to worry about this the way city cyclists do. I'm talking about riding by cars that are parked on the street. It is my experience that a lot of drivers that park on the street do not look into their side view mirrors before they open up their door. The best way to avoid an ugly end-o is to get used to looking for a head behind the wheel of the car, and always try and give yourself a little clearance of 3 ft. if possible without getting too far out in the traffic lane.